Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA) goes off on Senate Republicans as they again try to block the first minimum wage increase in 10 years. These people have no shame, no compassion, or empathy for their fellow man.
One of the best suggestions I have recently seen is to require Senators to live on the minimum wage while in office. But barring that we should at least tie Congressional pay raises to increases in the minimum wage. To paraphrase the Soup nazi from the popular Seinfeld TV show episode… No minimum wage increase, NEXT! no raise for you.
We have now had amendments that have been worth over 200 billion dollars… Amendments that have been offered. We’ve had amendments on education of 35 billion dollars. We’ve had health-savings amendments that will benefit people with average incomes of $112,000… We’ve had those kinds of amendments and we’re looking at the Kyl amendment at 3 billion dollars. But we still cannot get two dollars and fifteen cents — over two years. Over two years!
What is the price, we ask the other side? What is the price that you want from these working men and women? What cost? How much more do we have to give to the private sector and to business? How many billion dollars more, are you asking, are you requiring?
When does the greed stop, we ask the other side? That’s the question and that’s the issue
Watch and listen for yourself…
If you consider your self poor, keep this in mind in 2008 when you go to the ballot box…
Do you have such disdain for hard-working Americans that you want to pile all your amendments on this? Why don’t you just hold your amendments until other pieces of legislation? Why this volume of amendments on just the issue to try and raise the minimum wage? What is it about it that drives you Republicans crazy? What is it? Something. Something! What is the price that the workers have to pay to get an increase? What is it about working men and women that you find so offensive?